Page 36 of The Witch

“For all we know,” he says as he stirs his pottage slowly, “Hitty is the one who sickened me in the first place. She is well known in town for her strange potions.”

“What nonsense!” I cry. “Do you truly believe such a thing, Archie Eldridge?”

Archie meets my gaze for a moment with his blue eyes but then drops them. “I do not know what to believe. But you must admit that the devil’s influence has been felt in Woodhaven. Jonas Reeve is most certainly a tool of the Devil.”

I cannot contest his assertions about Jonas Reeve. When I gazed into that man’s eyes, I discerned the foul influence of Satan. Since last night, I have learned more about what Reeve did and how he was finally caught by the sheriff. A maiden of but sixteen named Leonora Rowley disappeared from her home the night before, causing her mother to seek the sheriff’s aid. Upon their quest to find her, they eventually spied Reeve looming over her lifeless form. Although ’twas too late for Leonora, many other souls were surely saved by this capture.

But how could they believe Hitty would consort with such an evil soul? She was the one who warned me to avoid him!

“The whole town shall be present today,” Archie points out. “Should we choose not to attend, the townsfolk will surely chatter.”

I have no doubt that he is correct. People talk about far less. Molly is a terrible gossip, and she will make sure everyone in town knows that we failed to attend the hanging.

And perhaps it is better that I go for Hitty’s sake. Perhaps it will give her some comfort to glimpse a friendly face in the crowd during her final moments.

“All right,” I say miserably. “I will go.”

Archie smiles and reaches for my hand. “We will go together. The three of us.”

For once, I am glad there is no child presently growing within my womb. I would not want that tiny life to be exposed to an innocent woman being hanged from the gallows.

27

The entire town has turned up to watch Hitty Atkins’s hanging.

There is plenty of space in Town Square, facing the gallows to provide the optimum vantage point. The noose hangs ominously from the wooden stakes, swaying in the slight breeze. Soon, that noose will tighten around Hitty’s neck until it snaps.

Archie and I are in the center of the crowd. I am fighting back tears, but the rest of the populace seem eager for a show today. For them, whether they believe that Hitty is guilty or not, this is nothing more than a performance. Only Archie wears a frown on his face, although this is only out of concern for me and the child he believes I am carrying.

The crowd grows more eager as Sheriff Bixby and Deputy Strickland lead Hitty out of the jailhouse toward the gallows. Hitty’s wrists are bound together with rope, and her silver hair is pulled back into a braid behind her head. She is wearing a vivid blue wool dress that I recognize as one of her favorites. I wonder if she chose that dress to end her days or if it happened to be the one she was wearing on the day they arrested her.

Hitty walks slowly from the jail toward the gallows, her gaze ahead. There is a small set of steps leading to the wooden platform, which will give way after she is secured in the noose. As she climbs the steps one by one, she trembles enough that I can see it all the way across the courtyard, but all the while, she keeps her head held high.

“Burn in hell, witch!” a woman in the crowd screams.

As yestermorn, when Reeve was in bonds, a loud murmur spreads amongst the crowd. Suddenly, all are raising their voices at Hitty. They call her a witch or a devil’s handmaiden. Or worse. They pelt her with fruit and other objects while she stands rigidly on the platform.

I look over at my husband, who is not screaming with the others. At least there is that. But he is watching as intently as anyone.

An apple flies through the crowd, striking poor Hitty on her cheek. As she falters, thrown by the impact, I cannot bear it another moment. I push my way through the crowd, nearly toppling an elderly woman the same age as Hitty. Dimly, I hear Archie calling my name, but I dare not stop. I keep moving until I have pushed my way to the front of the crowd.

“Silence!” I shout with a strength in my lungs I did not know I possessed. “Quiet your jeers!”

It works. The crowd, angry and restless, falls into a hushed silence. Suddenly, the eyes that have been staring at Hitty have now turned their attention to me. It is quiet enough that I can hear my husband when he speaks my name.

“Caroline…” he says.

“This woman is no witch!” I ignore my husband as I appeal to my neighbors. “She is a kind woman who would never hurt a fly! She would certainly never consort with the likes of Jonas Reeve!”

“Caroline,” Archie says again in a low but firm voice.

“You are mistaken about her!” I continue, my heart pounding. “You have condemned an innocent woman to her demise! And mark my words, judgment will find you for such foul deeds!”

Archie’s eyes widen. “Caroline.”

“Mistress Eldridge!” Sheriff Bixby booms out. “Cease thy rampage this instant!”

“God knows she is innocent!” I plead with them. “If you take her life away, your hands will be stained with her blood!”